My Immortal
by SplendentGoddess
Summary: Mortality is something we all have to face. Even those who are seemingly immortal have to deal with the consequences of time; they just have to deal with it a bit differently from everyone else.


Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.

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Winner! 1st Place for Best One-shot, IYFG, 3rd Quarter 2010

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~ My Immortal ~

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It was a warm, peaceful summer's day, which was good because her old bones didn't much appreciate the cold anymore. Kneeling before the fire pit, the elderly miko stirred the stew slowly, reflecting back on her long, happy life with a melancholy sigh. If she had it to do all over again, she wouldn't change a thing. Still, that did not mean she didn't wish that things could have been different.

A swish of movement drew her attention to the mat hanging in the doorway, revealing a young man dressed in robes of vibrant red fire-rat fur. His hair was white, but unlike her own gray tresses, it had always been white.

"Lunch will be ready shortly, Inuyasha." the aged miko stated with a gentle smile.

Coming forward, the hanyou knelt beside her, softly cupping the hand that held the stirring spoon.

"You should be resting, Kagome. I told you before that I don't mind cooking from now on."

Shooting her husband a dry look, Kagome yanked her hand back before playfully smacking his own with the wooden spoon.

"And what would you have me do with myself? If I cannot prepare my husband a simple stew, then what good am I?"

Pulling her into a sideways embrace, Inuyasha closed his eyes, trying and failing to keep his tears at bay.

Closing her own eyes in turn, Kagome's heart softened as she felt the way Inuyasha's unsteady breathing shook his body.

"I will lay back down after lunch on one condition." she compromised then, her voice roughened with age, yet twinkling with mirth.

"And that would be?"

"That you lay with me."

"Kagome-"

"Grant me this, Inuyasha. Please."

Cupping her cheek as he gazed deeply into her eyes, her cold, pale skin as frail as rice paper under his touch, Inuyasha didn't have the heart, or the desire, to tell her no. Lunch was a quiet affair, and after the dishes were washed, the hanyou watched in silence as his wife of sixty years undressed before crawling nude into their bed. The sight of her body, so consumed by mortality, caused his heart to pang in his chest, but he would be lying if he said that he did not still desire her just as strongly as he ever had.

Shedding his own robes, Kagome's eyes followed his movements with unbridled appreciation. His body had remained untouched over the years; he was just as young, and just as virile, as the day she'd first returned to him after those three long years of separation. Neither of them having been willing to waste another moment of their lives, they had each confessed their feelings to one another, joining as husband and wife within a month's time of her arrival, and they had lived together happily in the village ever since. They had five healthy children, all of whom were long since grown with families of their own. Knowing of their mother's condition, they had all agreed to let their father share his final days with his wife alone. Her heart no longer beat as properly as it should, often times skipping or fluttering in ways that had Kagome gasping and cupping her chest. He could hear it struggling to maintain itself, even now, but that did not stop him from continuing to disrobe, until he was as equally nude and climbing into bed beside her.

"Remind me why I love you." she teased as she wrapped her wrinkled fingers around his flaccid penis, each of them knowing that the physical aspect of their relationship was not the primary reason for her feelings.

Though it was certainly an added bonus.

"Kagome…" he groaned, feeling his member come to life in her hand. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You'll only hurt me if you deny me this." she replied, turning and reaching for the jar of oil at her side of the bed.

Wordlessly, he shuddered under her touch, as she ran her oiled fingers along his shaft, before also bringing some of the oil to herself. He was beautiful, his face, currently scrunched in pleasure, having remained unchanged over the decades.

"My beautiful immortal…" she stated with an air of wonder, of appreciation. How had a creature as magical, as mysterious as him, fallen in love with a simple human woman such as herself?

Shifting to lie below him as he maneuvered himself on top of her, Kagome could do nothing but offer him her most sincere smile as she saw the single tear he couldn't hide slide down his cheek. Reaching between them, Inuyasha aligned himself at her center, the oil allowing for easy passage as he returned home after eight long months of separation. So paranoid was he, unwilling to risk harming her fragile human body, that he had momentarily forgotten about her soul, which was just as immortal as his was, he realized then. The only difference was that while he would continue to live onward in one single body, Kagome's soul needed to die and be reborn. If she could find her way back to him even over the span of five hundred years, then anything was possible.

Slowly retracting his hips before once again sinking himself within her inviting heat, Inuyasha wasn't surprised when Kagome began reciting the same questions she had first started asking him over two decades ago, needing to make sure he understood, for her own peace of mind.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"I am Inuyasha, second son of the great Inu no Taisho."

"What are you?"

"The product of love between my mother and father."

"What do you deserve?"

"The same rights as any other man."

"Say it, Inuyasha. Let me hear you say it."

Smiling, he leaned his head forward, gently touching his lips to hers. He didn't dare lower too much of his weight on top of her body, but that did not stop him from making sure she knew just how deeply he loved her, how deeply he would _always _love her, even when she was no longer in his life. As he observed the way his silvery white hair mingled with her own white/gray tresses, he understood why Kagome had demanded he come to truly mean the words that he knew she wanted to hear him say in that moment.

"I am not a monster." he began, gradually picking up the pace of his thrusts. "I am no different from any other man. I am worthy of respect. I am worthy of honor. I am worthy of love."

"Promise me you won't walk away from an opportunity to find new love, Inuyasha. Promise me you won't allow yourself to be miserable for the rest of your days without me. Promise me you will let yourself be _happy_."

"I promise." he vowed, meaning it with every fiber of his being.

Feeling his climax sneak up on him, he resisted the urge to grab her hips and slam his own forward, knowing he would risk breaking a bone if he allowed himself to be so rough with her. Instead, he settled for slamming his lips down upon her own, growling into the kiss as he felt her hands reach up to tangle in his hair, her right hand tweaking his left ear for old time's sake as he grunted his release, emptying himself within her.

He stayed still for several long minutes, listening to her struggling heartbeat, willing it to stay strong just a little while longer.

"Why don't you take a nap?" he asked of her after a moment, as he finally pulled himself away from her, for some reason, he knew, for the last time. "I'll make dinner tonight so you don't have to worry about it."

Wordlessly, Kagome merely nodded, her radiant smile warming his heart.

He was not surprised when she never awoke from her nap.

Not having promised that he wouldn't cry, Inuyasha allowed himself one night to mourn her passing in private, but come the following morning he exited their home of the last sixty years and found his children in the village, telling them all the news. Akane, their youngest daughter and Kagome's apprentice for village miko, performed her mother's last rights as her body burned atop the funeral pyre. Inuyasha received support from everyone in the village. A place that would not only allow a woman married to a hanyou to function as the village miko, but would also allow another woman of one-quarter youkai blood _herself_ to function as a miko as well, was definitely a good place to call home. His children and grandchildren all lived in the village. Miroku and Sango's children and grandchildren all lived in the village. He wasn't going anywhere.

While his days in the village after Kagome's passing were unarguably lonelier than he would've liked, Inuyasha did his best to keep his vow, finding happiness in little things, refusing to wallow in self-pity. Her unwavering love had shown him that he was _capable _of both receiving and giving the emotion, and he would keep his promise to not walk away should a new chance for love decide to find him.

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It was nearly fifteen years to the day, and Inuyasha was relaxing in the shade, sitting under the branches of the Goshinboku, smiling quietly to himself as he listened to his great-great-grandsons playing tag. So many families in the village now had members who were one quarter, one eighth, one sixteenth and even one thirty-second youkai, though very few youkai characteristics, if any, remained noticeable beyond one eighth. It truly had him wondering just how many humans of Kagome's future had a youkai ancestor without even knowing it. He thought about his deceased wife often, though he always did his best to focus on the _happy _memories. Sango and Miroku's youngest great-grandson had taken to Shinto rather than Buddhism and had become a Shinto priest, maintaining the shrine grounds in Akame's place, as she often had to travel to assist other villages. Already he had found himself a wife, who was now heavy with child, and they had every intention of keeping the ancient shrine within their family. Inuyasha could not help but to wonder if it would turn out that Kagome herself was descendent from Sango and Miroku's line. Stranger things have happened.

Not too many strange things had happened in quite some time, however, so when some of the younger village men marched by him, dragging a straggly dressed, kicking and screaming peasant girl up passed him and towards the shrine, only for the girl to break free and run right for him, Inuyasha couldn't help raising an eyebrow in curiosity and amusement.

The girl, clearly not having realized that there was a man – no, a youkai – sitting casually along her escape root, came to a screeching halt as she caught sight of him, unintentionally allowing the men chasing her time to catch up. Too afraid to move, though she was more afraid of the village men than this demonic stranger, she lowered her eyes, shielding her face from Inuyasha's gaze with wild bangs as she felt a rough hand grab her upper arm.

"What is the meaning of this?" Inuyasha asked the men behind her casually, his tone betraying none of his displeasure with their rough handling.

"Inuyasha-sama, this girl is not from our village, and she was found raiding the food supply. We were bringing her to Akame-sama for judgment."

He nodded once in understanding. His daughter would go easy on the girl, of that he was sure, but she wasn't at the shrine at the moment.

"I'm afraid my daughter has not yet returned from her latest journey, but you may go, I'll see to the urchin."

The young girl bristled at being called such, but as the men behind her nodded their compliance before veering off, she found that she still could not move, frozen in place by the golden gaze of the youkai man before her, as she peered up at him hesitantly through her bangs.

"You don't need to fear me, girl. If you're homeless, I'm sure we can find someone willing to take you in. From your struggling I'd say you look pretty strong, so if you're willing to put forth an honest day's work, I'll personally make sure you get food in your belly on a daily basis."

She raised her face then, meeting his eyes with her own. Her expression was one of surprise, of disbelief, and of gratitude.

Inuyasha gasped.

Her face was familiar. _Too _familiar.

"Kagome?" he blurted before he could stop himself, mentally kicking himself as the teenager before him scrunched up her face in confusion. Kami…she looked so cute like that.

"I'm sorry…you must have me confused with someone else." she said then, her voice reflecting none of the fear she had felt moments prior. "My name's Yumiko."

_That voice…_

And then the wind shifted, bringing her similar, _too _similar, yet still undeniably different scent to his nose.

He smiled, showing off his fangs. She didn't flinch at their appearance. Deliberately flicking an ear, he observed in amusement as her eyes were drawn up to the top of his head, widening in wonder and delight instead of fear.

"My name's Inuyasha."

~ Fin ~


End file.
